Almost 20 years old now.
Artist, album and year: Radiohead, The Bends, 1995
Why is it a classic? : Pablo Honey announced Radiohead as a band of incredible promise and potential but it was The Bends that proved Thom Yorke and co were here to stay.
Very seldom has an album started with such a strong sequence of songs but Planet Telex, The Bends and High and Dry were just a sample of what was in store next.
Fake Plastic Trees is that rarity, a song that takes the time to draw the listener in and immerse them in the tone, feel and headspace of the singer.
The timeless track was also pivotal in helping the band move away from the ‘grungier’ sounds of their debut album.
Jonny Greenwood is an absolute wizard with a guitar but his opening chords are stripped back much in the same way that Yorke stripped back any inhibitions that he may have had about bearing his soul as a singer.
You get the feeling that the Radiohead singer is on the brink of either bursting his lungs or breaking down and crying in a flood of tears on this track.
Yorke’s vocals along with the languid guitar chords helps draw you in but the the lyrics are deliberately left vague and open so that listeners can project their own feelings into the tune and draw their own conclusions.
Loss, heartache, longing and quiet reflection are all prevalent on this incredible track and I defy anyone not to get goosebumps at the 2:40 minute mark as the drums kick in, Yorke’s voice soars and the electric guitar takes hold.
The genius of this song is that it can be played to an intimate room of just 8 people or a stadium of 80,000 people and still have the same effect.
Did You Know? : JOE Towers are usually a hub of peace, calm and universal agreement on 99% of topics but there’s one item that constantly provokes a heated debate that requires a cooling off period, Radiohead’s best album.
Ok Computer seems to be the populist opinion but there’s a few JOE’s who’ll vigorously defend the merits of In Rainbows and Kid A. For me, it’s The Bends. Always has been and always will be.
The lyrical hook: “She Looks like the real thing, She tastes like the real thing, My fake plastic love”.
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